Professor Ian Harris AM is the leader of our Injury and Rehabilitation research stream at the Institute and head of the Whitlam Orthopaedic Research Centre.
His book ‘Surgery, the Ultimate Placebo’ argues that the benefit of surgery may be lower than what you or your surgeon may think. He also argues that surgery may pose a greater risk than what you might believe.
Professor Harris shares with us how commonly performed operations such as knee arthroscopies, back fusions or cardiac stenting procedures have become such accepted practice without a deeper examination of the case for or against them.
If you were to put these practices under the microscope, you may find them to be useless or even harmful, he argues. Authored by an experienced, practising orthopaedic surgeon and medical researcher who performs many of these operations himself, the book makes for a compelling read.
The placebo effect of surgery may be very real, but whether or not it is worth the recovery time, monetary cost and physical discomfort is something you can decide for yourself by reading Professor Harris’s book.
Professor Ken Hillman AO is a founding Director of the Simpson Centre for Health Services Research and the pioneer of the introduction of the Medical Emergency Team (MET), which responds to seriously ill hospital patients early in their deterioration. He is a practising medical researcher at the Institute and clinician in Intensive Care at Liverpool Hospital.
His book ‘Vital Signs’ follows the personal experiences of intensive care unit patients, their families and the struggles of staff trying to provide the best possible care in a critical care environment.
‘Vital Signs’ is an absorbing collection of stories about real, everyday people facing tragedy and uncertainty, and the manner in which they cope. With his expansive experience as an intensive care clinician, Professor Hillman takes you on a genuine, emotional journey inside an intensive care unit. At the same time, he offers a burning critique of the way modern healthcare can sometimes fail those who need help the most